The Assembly has approved a slate of workforce housing bills to address Wisconsin’s housing shortage.
One of the bills, which passed by voice vote, seeks to stop people and groups from blocking local development projects.
AB 266 would require local governments to approve residential housing projects if the application is complete and the development meets existing requirements. It also specifies only a simple majority vote by a local government would be required to approve a development, with limited exceptions.
Rep. Dave Murphy said the bill provides an opportunity to combat NIMBY-ism, short for “not in my backyard.” The term describes people who object to proposed developments in their local community.
“We can’t let a few people stop progress in our communities. We need to develop more homes for our next generation, our young people, and this bill helps us move forward,” the Greenville Republican said.
Rep. Mike Bare praised the overall package of bills, but said AB 266 needs to go a step further to ensure local governments have the tools they need to be successful.
“If we don’t, I’m concerned that this bill will further entrench the substantive problems that exist today in local zoning,” the Verona Dem said.
Bare had introduced an amendment in committee to allow inclusionary zoning under state law. That would allow local governments to set a required number of new or existing residential units to be available for rent or sale to a person or family with family income below a certain percentage of the median income.
Rep. Rob Brooks, chair of the Housing and Real Estate Committee, sought to quell what he called concerns the bill would lead to “a gross infringement of local control.”
“I have no fear whatsoever, that there will be 100 percent compliance, that this is going to provide a tremendous amount of clarity for the whole development process,” the Saukville Republican said.
See details on all the bills at WisPolitics.com: https://www.wispolitics.com/2023/wed-pm-update-senate-on-path-to-pass-shared-revenue-bill
